FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.—We’ll tell you about Manti Te’o and Everett Golson, about AJ McCarron and Barrett Jones. We in the media will tell you all about the biggest names at this season’s BCS championship site, and then tell you about them some more. You know how it goes.

You won’t hear nearly as much about a guy like T.J. Jones. But the Notre Dame junior has a story that simply must be shared, and it goes far beyond his status as the No. 1 wide receiver on a team known for its defense, its running game, its redshirt freshman quarterback, its award-winning tight end … but its wideouts? Not at all.

Maybe Jones—who has 43 catches for 559 yards and four touchdowns—is no Amari Cooper. There aren’t many out there who can hold a candle to Alabama’s fabulous freshman.

But don’t go assuming the Irish don’t have anyone other than tight end Tyler Eifert who can go up and get a ball downfield. If quarterback Golson proves prepared for this final exam, Jones will be on the other end of things making some plays.

“His ball skills are ridiculous,” offensive coordinator Chuck Martin said. “It’s hard to throw a ball he won’t catch for you. He’s super quick. He understands the game. He’s tough. He has all the traits.

“He’d probably love to be 6-5 and maybe a little bigger, but that’s not how he is.”

Jones has a 5-11, 190-pound frame. You know what else he has? A legacy of greatness and glory to help carry him on Monday night.

Andre Jones was a starting defensive end on Notre Dame’s 1988 national championship team. He wore No. 7, as his son does now. In the summer of 2011, he died suddenly of a brain aneurysm.

“There would be a lot of sentimental value if we get this W,” Jones said on Friday.

It’s hard to imagine the Irish winning if their wideouts don’t play much of a role at all. Against Alabama’s rugged man coverage, that’ll be a massive challenge.

“At the end,” Jones said, “it comes down to you or him when the ball’s in the air.”

It comes down to an opportunity for Jones to write a decisive chapter in his family’s story.

2. Turns out senior receiver Robby Toma has more in common with Te’o than just their hometown, their high school and their close friendship. Toma also sees himself as a DB-in-waiting. It’s true: He bugs defensive coordinator Bob Diaco all the time to throw him into the secondary.

3. We hear so much about Alabama’s Eddie Lacy and T.J. Yeldon, but Notre Dame’s running backs are really good, too, darn it. Martin truly believes any of the trio who play—Riddick, Cierre Wood and George Atkinson III—would excel as an every-down back. Don’t anybody sleep on these guys.